How could television be used to improve social and political life in the United States - Essay Example

Improving Life Through Television In this day and age, television is often thought of as the downfall of America, providing viewers with negative and false views of the world that can only result in painful reality checks. However, television has the ability to be put to good use in regard to improving social and political life in the United States. Since people of all ages, races, and social and economic backgrounds turn to their televisions for information and allow themselves to become influenced by what they watch, programs on television can be used to educate these people on social and political issues.

Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are the leading methods of getting social and political information to a massive audience. These announcements exist on channels that are usually controlled by the city, and they cover current political information and other goings-on throughout America. “The best way to improve social life in the United States is to let the vast majority of the population know what is going on in America’s social life (Womack, 2009).” Most of these channels run 24/7, always updating their information so that those that watch these announcements stay up to date.

While these announcements usually have their own designated television stations, there are some counties that prefer to air the announcements during news broadcasts or popular television shows - times when there is a good chance that there are already a massive number of people sitting in front of their televisions. Similarly, another popular method of using the television to improve social and political life is the news. A little more formal than Public Service Announcements, the news informs people of numerous goings-on in the world, influencing the social and political side of television viewers, especially the political side.

People are able to view the different debates going on in politics and decide for themselves which side of the argument they are more in agreement with. They can also conclude their own argument if the ones on television do not please them. They are able to build a political opinion by watching the news on television. As a large majority of people do watch the news, many news companies make sure to feed the important, need-to-know information in the first half-hour (Calavita, 2005). A method that is used to guarantee a large audience when it comes to viewing either Public Service Announcements or a news broadcast is by placing the program immediately after a popular television show.

This method is implemented with the belief that the viewer would not have changed the channel right away and upon seeing the information in the upcoming news broadcast is less likely to change the channel and continue to watch as the news broadcast begins (Postman & Powers, 2008). The television show Judge Judy is an example of this; a popular, well-watched television show, immediately following it without so much as a commercial break is the preview of the upcoming news broadcast, one that usually explains the top stories or the most interesting news that might catch the viewers’ attention.

Television is one of the most influential mediums to date and should therefore be used to the social and political advantages. A more that a person is aware of the world around them, from the greatest event to the smallest recall, the more they can better themselves in regard to the social and political aspects of their life. They can be more informed and intelligent about current events, being able to use the information that they are fed to understand or alter their political views, or else know of dangerous happenings taking place in their neighborhood.

Public Service Announcements and news broadcasts are wells of information to be absorbed by viewers everywhere with the hopes of making them more socially and politically knowledgeable. ReferencesCalavita, M. (2005). Apprehending politics: News media and individual political development. Dulles, VA: State University of New York Press.Postman, N. & Powers, S. (2008). How to watch TV news. New York, NY: Penguin Group, USA. Womack, J. (2009). Television: A way to improve social and political skills.

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